Japanese quince

Japanese quince: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Low, spreading shrub about 1 m high and up to 1.5 m wide, with thorny branches.

Leaves

Small, oval, 3–5 cm, scalloped and glossy green; they appear during or after flowering.

Flowers

Cup-shaped, 3–4 cm, orange-red to brick red, in clusters close to the branches, in March–April.

Fruit

Round, hard fruits of 3–4 cm, green at first, turning yellow and strongly scented in October.

Thorns

Short, sharp thorns on the branches: wear gloves when working on it.

Flowering: March–April · Harvest and fruit: October–November · Plants: March–April and October–November · Pruning: May and July

Why grow it?

• One of the first shrubs to flower: orange-red colour in March–April.
• An early food source for bees and bumblebees.
• Edible, fragrant fruits for jelly, or to set out in a bowl.
• The dense, thorny branches give small birds a safe hiding place.
• Copes well with drought and suits a low hedge or a bank.
• Low and wide: fits a small garden or against a low wall.

Japanese quince: where does it grow best?

• Sun or partial shade; it flowers best and the fruits ripen best in sun.
• Ordinary, well-drained soil: sand, loam or clay, acid to neutral. On chalky soil the leaves turn yellow.
• Dry to moist; once established it copes well with drought.
• Space plants 1–1.2 m apart; for a low hedge, 2 plants per metre.
• Also lovely against a sunny wall, where you can train it flat.

Light

Sun and partial shade

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Acid or neutral

Moisture

Dry or normal

Size

1 m tall, 1.5 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -25 °C)

Goes well with

• Daffodils: Yellow flowers next to the orange-red, in the same weeks.
• Grape hyacinths: A blue carpet at its feet.
• Lenten rose: Flowers at the same time and tolerates the same partial shade.
• Forget-me-nots: Soft blue beneath the low branches.

Japanese quince: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April and October–November.

1. Plant in March–April or October–November, when the soil is neither frozen nor too wet.
2. Wear sturdy gloves: the branches are thorny.
3. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and mix in some compost or leaf mould.
4. Set the plant at the same depth as it was in the pot and firm the soil well.
5. Water in thoroughly straight away, then weekly in dry spells during the first year.
6. Mulch around the base: this keeps weeds down between the thorny branches, where weeding is awkward.

Care

Watering

Young plants in dry spells. After that only in long periods of drought.

Feeding

Some compost in March. On chalky soil, leaf mould helps against yellow leaves.

Mulching

Leaf mould or wood chips keep the soil cool and weeds down.

Harvesting fruit

Pick them in October, when they turn yellow and smell fragrant, before the first hard frost.

Against a wall

Tie the main branches in a fan shape to wires and shorten the side shoots in summer.

Tip: Set a few ripe fruits in a bowl on the table: they give off a fresh, fruity scent for weeks. Then turn them into jelly, perhaps together with apples.

Japanese quince: when to prune it?

Pruning months: May and July.

When: After flowering, in May. Against a wall, shorten the side shoots again in July.

How:

• Cut flowered shoots back to a few buds above the old wood.
• Each year, remove one or two of the oldest branches at the base.
• Remove dead, crossing and inward-growing branches.
• Against a wall: in July, cut side shoots back to 4–5 leaves; that is where next year’s flower buds form.
• If you want plenty of fruit, prune lightly: the fruits grow on the shoots that have flowered.

Caution: Do not prune in winter, or you will cut off the flower buds. Wear gloves against the thorns.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Division

It produces suckers: in October–November, cut off a rooted piece and replant it elsewhere.

Layering

In spring, pin a low branch into the soil; sever and transplant it after a year.

Semi-ripe cuttings

In July–August: cuttings of 10 cm under plastic or in a cold frame.

Japanese quince: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −25 °C.

• Hardy to about −25 °C: no protection is needed.
• Late frost can turn open flowers brown; the shrub itself does not suffer and the buds that are still closed flower later.
• After harvesting, put a few fruits in a bowl indoors: they will scent the room for weeks.

Diseases and pests

• Yellow leaves: Yellow leaves with green veins on chalky soil. Add leaf mould and mulch the base.
• Aphids: On young shoots in spring. Hose them off with water; ladybirds do the rest.
• Frosted flowers: Brown flowers after a night frost. Nothing to be done: the shrub carries on flowering with the buds that were still closed.
• Fireblight: Rare: shoot tips that suddenly wilt and turn blackish-brown, as if scorched. Cut back well into healthy wood and disinfect your secateurs.

Through the year

• February: Rest. The buds swell.
• March: Flowering. Planting. Spread compost.
• April: Flowering. Planting. Watch for aphids.
• May: Prune after flowering.
• July: Shorten side shoots on wall-trained plants. Water in dry spells.
• August: Take semi-ripe cuttings.
• October: Harvest the fruits for jelly. Planting.
• November: Planting. Remove rooted suckers.

Edible and useful

Fruit (October–November)

Pick the fruits in October, when they are yellow-green and strongly scented; they are ripe then, even though they stay hard. Pick them before the frost comes, as they keep better. Raw, they are far too sour and hard: always cook them. Cut them into pieces with the skin on. For jelly the cores can go in the pan; for the other recipes remove the cores and pips.

Storing

Whole, the fruits keep for weeks in a cool, airy place, not touching; they scent the house beautifully, but keep them away from other fruit. Chopped and cooked, they can be frozen. Jelly and chutney keep for a year in sterilised jars, cordial for six months in bottles.

Caution: Raw, the fruits are hard, very sour and astringent: always cook them. The pips contain amygdalin, like apple pips: do not eat them and remove them, except for jelly, where they are thrown away with the pulp after draining. Flowering quince is often treated or planted along busy verges: only use fruit from a bush you are sure has not been sprayed, and rinse it well. If you are allergic to apples or other fruit of the rose family, be careful. Never eat anything you have not identified with certainty.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Japanese quince jelly (Jelly · ± 4 jars of 250 ml · 1.5 hrs + 1 night draining)
• Japanese quince cordial (Syrup · ± 600 ml · 40 min + 1 day steeping)
• Japanese quince chutney (Dish · ± 3 jars of 250 ml · 1 hr 15 min)
• Japanese quince liqueur (Liqueur · ± 700 ml · 30 min + 8 weeks steeping and maturing)

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Birds

Berries, seeds or insects as food, or a place to nest.

Did you know?

• The fruits are rich in pectin, so Japanese quince jelly sets easily.
• In Latvia and Lithuania, Japanese quince is also grown as a fruit crop, for juice, syrup and jam.
• The name Chaenomeles comes from Greek and means roughly ‘split apple’.